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19 March, 2018

I was given a big bag of fava bean seed as the Seed Library of Los Angeles was clearing out some old seeds lately. The bag was labeled "Fava Beans, 2010" I'm thinking "What is the longevity of fava beans anyway?" Most seeds figure to be close to dust over seven years (tomatoes being the common exception), but every so often, something was saved right and conditions all along favored longer life and the seeds will still sprout. I had no idea about fava bean seed, although, larger seeds seem to take longer to die than itty bitty ones (tomatoes definitely are the outliers!). Some quick research, I found a UC Davis article that said "When stored under favorable conditions, most bean seeds have a life expectancy of 3 years."

It's hard to see, but this bag of fave bean seed is labeled 2010. Good? Bad?What to do?

Gosh. At 8 years, 2010 to 2018 seems like a long shot! But here's a whole bag of the stuff, I would really hate to throw it away. I don't know any magic, but sometimes a 'germination test' feels like magic. What Is a Germ Test And How Do You Do It?Most seed savers abbreviate 'germination' into the monosyllable 'germ' and so you hear us talking about 'germ tests' not germination tests. Too much work to say all that! You will need a soft cloth or a paper towel. A water proof container - most folks use plastic zip lock bags. For this one, I used a bag that a loaf of bread came in and when I'm done, I'll wash it and use it again! Lastly, of course, you'll need some seeds and some water.Fava bean seeds are big and bulky. They are not the most convenient species to take a germ test. First time out, you might want to do corn, peas, regular beans - something substantial but not as bulky as a fava bean. The number of seeds you will use for a germ test will depend on how many seeds you have and how much mental energy you want to spend. Educators usually talk in terms of 100 seeds. The beauty of this is that when you're done, simple count up the number that sprouted and you have the real percentage of viable seeds. And that works if you dealing in farm size quantities, but if you have only 100 seeds to start with, you'll be using the germ test seeds to plant! It takes a good deal of patience to plant already sprouted seeds.

So here we are. I only used four rows of five beans and even that was hard to keep in the paper towel roll! That's twenty seeds, so to get my percentage, I count my sprouted bean seeds and multiply by five and that will be the percentage out of 100. It's hard to see in this photo, but there are 12 sprouted seeds (and by the way, this test was only for five days, if I really wanted to push things, I could have easily kept the seeds in the roll for up to 10 days, getting an even higher percentage, but I was in a hurry for many reasons). Twelve sprouted seeds times five is 60%, because, if you're math challenged like I am, it takes five times twenty to make 100 and that's how we find the percent. Now 60% germination will not win any real award, in fact it is illegal to sell seed with 60% germination. But in this case, to use these beans up, I would plant 2 seeds for every plant I want. If I was wanting to have a fava in every spot where I planted them, I might sow two seeds per spot and then put a couple seeds into 4" containers to fill in any hole that ended up empty.So, yes ma'am. These are good seeds enough for home use. They'll spend the summer in a cool, dark and dry place (in the plastic bag in my fridge with the door closed almost all the time) and I'll plant them out this fall. Or, you might find some of them with the Seed Library Of Los Angeles where you'll get double the amount to make up for the low germination. Soon, I'll be showing off my black garbanzo beans I'm SO excited about. Do stay tuned!david

15 March, 2018

In our Mediterranean climate, we can
grow a lot of different food plants – in fact, almost all of them.
The only time we find difficulty in growing plants that thrive
elsewhere is with the perennials and fruit trees. Here are a list of
many of the Ark of Taste plants we can grow in our SoCal gardens:

Algonquian Squash (Cucurbita pepo)

Amish Paste Tomato (Lycopersicon
lycopersicum) – this is one of my favorites too.

Because
it's easier to find URLs online rather than typing them in, for my
Intermediate Seed Saving Class for the City of Santa Monica on March
17th, I gave everyone THIS URL wherein to list the OTHER URLs.

Seed
Saving Resources on the Web:

First,
a word of caution: ALL of these sites are written for climates
that differ remarkably from our own. We are a Mediterranean
Climate, which means our climate resembles Rome and Athens much more
than it does the rest of the United States. Refer to local seed
savers when discussing time of year when to plant and harvest as it
is not at all the same as these sites would have you believe.
Remember that as you glean all the other goodness these people have
to say about seed saving. Also, this blog has a good deal of seasonal
information that will prove helpful.

https://seedalliance.org/all-publications/
This is the link directly to their publications page, but the whole
site is worth exploring. The number one book I use is from
them. Before you become too enamored with all they offer, on
the left hand side, check "How To Guide" and then "Seed
Saving" and you'll be able to download this 37 page guide. With
this and a few add ons, you'll be set to start saving seeds. Once
you've done that, go back and see what all they offer!

https://www.seedsavers.org/search
I have been a member of Seed Savers Exchange for almost 20 years. Of
all the seed saving organizations in the US, this the oldest and the
most venerated. Clicking into "Search" you'll find
some resources. And get a membership while you're there.
We support Seed Savers Exchange. Our Crop-Specific Seed Saving
Guide came from here.

This
is a go to "Isolation Distances" guide. It's written
for Mid-Atlantic and Southern US, but a mile here is a mile there and
I use this as a starting point for the discussion.

http://www.savingourseeds.org/publications.html
The above publication helped me find this site - lots of good
information to love and treasure here.

https://slola.blogspot.com/
For some local seed saving news, this is the blog I maintain for the
Seed Library of Los Angeles - also, check out SlOLA.org - we
are updating the web site now (ever so slowly - we are all volunteers
with real lives outside of our seed-saving) and soon should have a
genuine excellent resource guide that will honestly get you hooked on
seed saving and knowing how to do it!

14 March, 2018

Three Winter veggies from the Fall class of Urban Food Production. In Spring we'll
be planting veggies for the hotter months including peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash -
to just name but a few!!! Sign up now!

Starting April 8th at The Learning Garden, the first offering of the Spring course of "Urban Food Production" a long running Fall class will be offered at The Learning Garden. Teaching this in Spring has been a dream of mine from the beginning because we will be growing tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squashes and cucumbers - and so many more of your favs. Spaces are still available - sign up!! Course title (below) is the link to UCLA Extension. Students get to harvest from their gardens throughout the summer (if they maintain them!). The syllabus doesn't say, it but we eat at every class! Eating is an agricultural act! So we have meals that reflect on seasonality in addition to being healthy, organic and delicious. It's all part of the syllabus.Questions? Give me a shout!david

I've taught gardening and horticulture for over 30 years,
which I hate to say because everyone thinks I'm an old fellow.
I'm still having a good time and I love teaching growing food to people.

The production, packaging, and transportation of food are large contributors to our global carbon emissions. Throughout the Los Angeles basin, food gardens have sprung up producing local healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables while contributing energy and financial savings in difficult economic times. Using the history and current practices of growing food in the city as a template, this course explores how urban grown food reduces food budgets, encourages food sovereignty while addressing environmental concerns. Participants are each given a small plot for growing food where they can experiment with new ideas and enjoy their harvest. Topics include fruit trees, vegetables, and berries that do well in our climate as well as often overlooked food-producing perennials. We address pitfalls, challenges and practical answers to growing food in modern city lots where the "back 40" describes square feet and not acres.

13 March, 2018

We
have all been “beginning” seed savers at one time or another.
While some have been at it their whole lives, others have come to the
party much later in life; others have saved one seed, for example,
tomato seed, but haven't bothered with anything else. We can become
intimidated by the seemingly endless bits of information from plant
to plant and, overwhelmed, through up our hands in despair and put
off learning it until next year.

I
think I would have done that same thing as well, except I had already scheduled a
seminar with me teaching seed saving to about 50 people in 3 months.
I was kind of under the gun. I knew of some seed saving, after all,
I knew my grandfather had saved seeds – I well remember the kitchen
table covered with newsprint and tomato seeds spread out to dry before being put into envelopes saving for next year.

I
dove into several books (see bibliography below), reading them and
comparing notes and tried putting what I was reading into action as best
I could. I learned that reading about seed saving had it's limits.
Doing seed saving taught me much faster, although a little theory
up front was necessary. It's just you don't learn how to save seeds
by reading everything the world has written about seed saving. We
learn by doing it. And everything is easy if you know how!

You
will make mistakes. Usually, the mistakes can be eaten and that's
the end of it. Some mistakes end up in the compost pile. No big
deal. Accept that making mistakes is your price for admission to the
club of seed savers.

Start
out simple and small. Do not overwhelm yourself. Choose a vegetable
from the “easy to save seeds” list. If you already store dry
beans, peas or other legumes to be hydrated and cooked in the
off season, you are already saving those seeds! The only thing you
might change is to look the plants over before you harvest from them,
looking for the plant that had the most, or the biggest, maybe the
earliest or the latest beans. Whatever you fancy as a good visible
trait in your beans. Mark those plants you find to be “the best”
and save seeds from those several plants to plant next year. By
doing that over and over again, you are “selecting” for that
trait and by golly one day you might have a variety that is bigger,
better, earlier or later to call your own!

Chose
your first seed saving activity from this list:

Beans

Garbanzo
beans

Lentils

Lettuce

Peas

Tomatoes*

Self
pollination (seed savers often abbreviate that to just "self" or "selfing") is found in about 15% of all plants. It is really very
predominate in the bean family, Fabacea,
the grass family, Poacea
– except for corn which is a plant unto its self. Some plants in
the sunflower family, Asteraceae,
do self-pollinate, others cross. Count on lettuce to always self and other sunflower-like plants to self only as a last resort.

Start
with the self-pollinators as they are the easiest. You really have
nothing to do but save the seeds! But what does that mean?

Black garbanzo beans are my current favorite thing in the
whole wide world! On the left, towards the top, the
very small flower and just to the right of center, the green pods.
These plants are slated to provide seeds for the Seed Library of Los Angeles
for next years cool season offerings.

Seeds
always come after the plant has flowered – in fact, as far as the
plant is concerned, producing flowers, which then produce the seeds,
is what it's all about. There is a bevy of jokes of poor taste here,
but I'll leave that to your imagination. You never see lettuce flowers
because your whole gardening career is to eat it before it bolts.
(Remember the term, “gone to seed?” Like a reference to a once
prosperous town that has fallen on hard times, could be said “just went to seed” as a derisive comment – our 'job' as gardeners
is to get rid of those plants before they've gone to seed.) Seed saving stands the traditional garden model on it's head.

(Working
in my garden one day, in an area full of lettuce that had “gone to
seed” - a man from the street called to me, “Is this your
garden?” I said it was. Pointing to all the plants that were in
various stages past prime eating time, “If this was my garden, I
shoot myself!” because he was measuring it by a different metric. I
saw seeds, he saw overgrown, spent plants.)

I
have always believed that persistence and patience were the golden
keys to gardening – and I think it's even more true for seed
savers.

This lettuce is from some spilled seed so we
are unsure of its name, I think it's Merlot, but
name or no name, I'm saving the seeds. I'll
find out the name later.

I'll
go into specifics in later posts, but for right now I would like you
to do two things. I'd like you to buy a notebook – or create a
Word document – in which to track your seed saving experiences. I
want you to be able to track your seeds through a couple of
generations to see how well you are doing – or if it's just not
happening for you, and I'd like to you read part of ONE book listed
below. Lettuce season for us is about over – if you have one
variety of lettuce you love, let one or two plants go to seed –
just by leaving them alone – if they are isolated to where you can
cut down – or eliminate – the water, all the better. You will
see the flowers fade and, as the plant becomes ever less attractive,
you'll begin to see little cups – where the flowers once were –
full of seeds – maybe 10 to 20 seeds in each one. Viola! You have
saved seeds! You'll need to make sure they are completely dry and
then store them – cool, dark and dry – for next season. More on
that too!

If
you have no lettuce left, get some beans in the ground and follow my
advice above about saving the seeds that are more like what you want.
I'll discuss how to store them in an upcoming blog (easy-peasy)!

david

*
observe your tomato flowers as they first open: do the inner parts
of the tomato flower extend beyond the flower's tip? If so, you have
a variety that can be pollinated by insects and is therefore not a
“self-pollinating” tomato. This is more common in the old
varieties of tomatoes, sadly, usually the ones you most want to save.

These
are the three I found the best. Deppe's book (Breed Your Own
Vegetable Varieties) starts out with stuff I still do not understand,
but half way through, the whole book changes into the best stuff written about saving seeds and it is easily assimilated.

When I teach seed saving the OSA guide is the one I recommend because
it is free and, at 35 pages, it is always right on point.

22 February, 2018

This is the conclusion to an article that can be found at http://www.lagardenblog.com/2018/02/grafting-introduction-part-1.html

“Patience
my be called a 'virtue' for most of mankind, but for a grafter it is
essential.” The quote originally said “gardeners” but it is
more than applicable to grafters. It's my quote, I can do with it
what I please.

Before
I let my students actually graft a tree in class, we find some wood
from an apple tree and we work on it, making straight cuts – which
are useful, if not essential – for eventual grafting. You will
want to be able to control the knife in making a clean, straight and
even cut. It must be straight up and down, no bows or bumps, and
straight across, no twists or turns, and it must be the correct
length in total.

Once
you have found a piece of apple wood – or other deciduous fruit - and
your knife is sharp, its time to begin your practice. We are going
to work with a simple Cleft graft. The down end of the scion is cut
to a “V” shape and the rootstock is simply slit down the middle.
I actually prefer to switch these roles where the rootstock holds the
“V” shape and the scion is split down the middle. The feeling I
have is that the “V” on the bottom might collect moisture and rot
at some point down the road, but there are many enthusiasts that will
say “that's never happened to me!” So which is up and which is down can be a
matter of preference. If “simple” is your only criteria, then
the “V” should be on the scion.

Cutting
the “V” is important and presently you will see how many ways it
can be screwed up. You would like to make it with as few strokes of
the knife as possible – two strokes is perfect – but three is not
uncommon. You want to avoid the “whittling” of the wood if at
all possible. Once you have sliced off one portion, a lot of what has
been written above will make more tangible sense that it did before.

You
want a piece of wood that has a very fine point on it with both
sides cut straight – no dips and/or turns in the blade as it goes
through. This is harder than it sounds. Resist the urge – you will
feel it – to turn the scion around, using the thumb on your right
hand to brace the knife cutting the wood! I know the knife appears
stuck, but when it comes unstuck, it will slice right through the
wood and on into your thumb. Keep the knife blade pointed away from
yourself and gently rock it back and forth. Presently it will become
unstuck and you can finish the cut bloodlessly. Patience.

A good, clean and straight cut. Note the green cambium.

A poor cut, it is not straight and there is no way to make
the cambium of this with the rootstock.

Practice
this cut as many times as needed to build confidence with your
ability to handle the knife. It is normal to have to sharpen your
knife mid-project as needed. You will want the “V” to be a very
sharp angle. Making the slice in the opposite piece to this
equation, is very straight forward: as near to the center, simply
rock your knife to make a straight cut about as long as your “V”
on the other piece of wood.

Before
you begin to put them together, begin to wrap the rootstock with the
Parafilm. Pull the Parafilm tight as you wrap, stretching it out and
binding it to itself until you reach the beginning of the nascent
graft. Place the the two wood pieces together. Inspect for cambium
to cambium connection – this is the essential part of the graft.
Wherever the cambium of these two pieces meet is the beginning of
your new tree. If they don't meet, you have wasted your time and the
tree's resources. Once you are certain you have the most cambium
meeting you can, hold that graft very tightly while you finish
wrapping the Parafilm over the graft. You can simply pull hard on
the Parafilm and it will break where you end.

The receiving end for the cut's above. Fitting the straight edge into
this piece of rootstock will be a piece of cake while
the curved cut will fail.

If
the tip of your scion was cut, you should also wrap that in Parafilm.
Remember, loss of water and cambium not matching are the two major
causes of graft failure. Parafilm is relatively cheap, so use more
than less!

Your
graft, if done properly, will show signs of taking in 3 to 4 weeks,
sometimes more, occasionally less. The weather has a lot to do with
it. If you failed, don't worry. You've just joined the very large
majority of grafters that have failed once or twice. Or more. Whether or not your graft takes, make sure you
examine the whole process and evaluate how well you were prepared and
what parts of your technique needs refinement and work with yourself
to improve your chances.

And
know that every year, you must revisit these skills anew. I usually
set aside a couple of one hour slots for a few weeks before grafting
to get my skills into top shape.

Remember
to remind yourself that grafting, while a science, is also an art.
Some are gifted grafters, while the rest of us must work at it. But
practice does make perfect.

This
is your first graft to learn – there are more. I'll be doing an
informal series on grafting over the next few months. Stay tuned
and if you don't understand something – ask questions! I'll answer
them for everyone's benefit. The motto for all grafters should be:

13 February, 2018

This is intended to be a down and dirty introduction to grafting. I am sorry it could not be kept to one blog post. I will post the finale in a day or two.

Grafting
is probably considered the most “mystical” of arts in that area
known as “horticulture” as practiced by the gardening public. It
is not mystical any more than sunrise and sunset is, but if you don't
know the basics, it can be forbidding. Know the rules and it's just
as common as a sunrise, don't learn the rules and you are lost.

Soon,
I'll write out the story of how I came to be totally in awe of
grafters and the event that changed my approach to garden science.
In this small intro, I will introduce the basics of grafting as
simply and straight forward as I can.

The absolute first thing to say about grafting is that you are working with really, really sharp knives. Your first priority must be safety - afterall, you will be using YOUR fingers and these knives are sharp. Have bandaids - at minimum, if not a well stocked first aid kit. ALL grafters I know, except those that ride motorcycles really (REALLY) fast, have at least some kind of first aid material in the same bag as their knives. Pay attention. Ask those around you to not talk to you while you are grafting. Do not graft while on the phone. Do not graft while driving. Give that knife and where it is pointed your full attention - all the time that blade is exposed. If it's sharp enough to graft, it's sharp enough to cut into you all the way to the bone. I've done it. It doesn't hurt until it hits the bone and then it hurts for a very long time. Never point the sharp end of the blade towards any part of your body - especially your left thumb - that's the one that gets nailed the most. Please! And thank you!

You
need;

A
very sharp knife

Two
pieces of wood (described below)

And
something to hold them together

These are grafting knives; the bottom wood handled knife is a Tina bench grafting knife - it doesn't fold and cannotcarried with ease in a pocket, the next knife up is a Swiss Army in my favorite blade style (identical blade to the one above it), the next knife is usually considered best for budding. The one on farthest right is just another grafting blade. The knife atthe top is my favorite - "new old stock" from eBay. I love the feel of this knife and use it for most of my work. It is resting on a roll of half inch Parafilm.

Your
sharp knife does not have to be a grafting knife, although if you
intend to graft as an ongoing project, you will find a grafting knife
increases your chances of a good graft. Some grafters simply use
those utility box cutters and break off the old blades instead of
having to sharpen the blades. I found that a difficult tool to
handle – but then again, I am pleased with my grafting knives and
enjoy using different ones on different days, but that's me and my
obsessive/compulsive personality.

But
your knife must be SHARP. Even if you need to stop every
several cuts and hone it a little.

The
“Something to hold them together” has really improved in the last
few years. In the past grafters have used plastic bags, electrical
tape, duct tape (omigaud NO!) and tar. Today we have “Parafilm” and
without it, I would not be a very good grafter. This stuff (can be
found on eBay and Amazon as well as other sites – I even have a few
rolls to sell pretty much all the time as I buy in bulk for my
class). It is not expensive. As you pull on it, to wrap your graft,
the Parafilm becomes more pliable and will actually begin to seal to
itself with just a little pressure. When firmly wrapped, in all but
the most difficult of grafts, Parafilm will hold your graft together.
Certainly as a beginner, you would not normally be undertaking grafts
that were above the cohesion of Parafilm to hold it together.

The
“two pieces of wood” is what makes this all interesting. One piece of wood is a “scion” while the other piece of wood is “rootstock.”The scion possesses the fruit you want to grow on
the rootstock. The rootstock is the rest of the tree that is not
this scion. You can graft five apples to one tree. All the pieces
you graft to the tree are 'scions.' That which holds them from
falling to the ground is the 'rootstock.' In the case of the apples,
the scion is collected because we want that apple's taste or
usability; an eating apple or a cider apple, one that bears in late
Spring and another the blooms in late Summer – whatever
characteristics you feel you want in an apple.If this is your first shot at grafting, I would strongly urge you to graft apples – the apple tree wood is easier to work with and the chance of success is strong. Citrus is one of the worst as it is really hard wood and difficult to shape. Get some miles under your knife and then tackle citrus.

The
rootstock can be an existing tree on your property or you can order
rootstock from some regional nurseries – they are not expensive.
One chooses rootstock on it's qualities – some rootstocks withstand
disease or wind or drought or dwarf your tree by a given percent. In
Southern California most experienced apple growers would choose M111.
I order my rootstock (sometimes referred to as “wood” in a
generic way) from Raintree Nursery.
They have always been reliable and prompt.

Now
we get to make our cuts. The scion wood should be about the diameter
of a pencil and the part of the rootstock you are going to attach the
scion to should be about the same diameter – it need not be exact,
but the closer it is the better.

This shot, while of a rose, shows the ring around the stem that is called the Cambium. It is the living tissue of woody plants and this tissue on your rootstock must be touching the scion's cambium. That is the thrust of grafting.

Thanks for dropping by - hope you get the chance to see my interview with Christy Wilhelmi, The Gardenerd on grafting coming out in a few days. And I'll wrap this, and our graft, up later this week.

davidThe conclusion of this article can be found at http://www.lagardenblog.com/2018/02/a-first-graft-conclusion.html

03 February, 2018

Two really ripe cherry tomatoes and two getting ripe with a bunch of green tomatoes.

These pages comprise my notes for my February 3rd class, "Tomatoes, The Gateway Drug to Gardening. While this does contain a lot of data, it certainly misses most of the off-the-wall impromptu humor that naturally happens whenever I open my mouth.

Caring
For Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a warm weather crop.
Usually setting them out in Southern California about tax day (April
15th) is a good bet.

Tomatoes prefer about 6 to 8 hours
of sun to bring out their best flavors. You can cheat if you have a
white wall that will reflect light – and heat – back to them,
but too little light will result in weak and non-productive plants.

You will need to stake, trellis,
or cage, and sometimes all three, your tomato plants to keep them
off the ground. Have your support system ready when planting the
tomatoes – waiting is guaranteed to see the tomatoes 6 feet long
before you find yourself trying to coral those vines desperately
into cages they refuse to go into. Save yourself (and the plants!)
the grief!

Give each plant enough room to
grow. Space “robust,” (along with “vigorous” these are code
words for “tomato plants on steroids” - take these terms
seriously) long-vined, indeterminate varieties about 3 feet apart.
Stockier determinate plants can be grown 2 feet apart. Growing in
containers, you’ll need at least a 36 to 48 inch pot for an
indeterminate variety, or a 24 inch pot for a determinate variety.
And stakes. And twine.

At the same time, lay 3 to 4
inches of compost on top of the soil which will provide minor
nutrients and help hold moisture in the soil, keeping the moisture
tomatoes love.

To grow a really strong tomato
plant, bury two-thirds of the stem when planting. This will
allow the plant to sprout roots along the buried stem, making your
plant will be stronger and better able to find water in a drought.
Please note that this deep-planting method only works with
tomatoes (and tomatillos). Another note; if you are putting
tomatoes into soil that has not yet warmed, lay the stem sideways
under the soil surface in order to not go deep into the colder soil.
Tomatoes planted in cool soil will never forgive you and will
perform worse than tomatoes planted two weeks late in warmer soil.

Do not use Nitrogen
fertilizer on your tomatoes! The plants will be bright green and
lush but will not produce fruit until the N is burnt up. I don't
know why, it just is. I tend to not use fertilizer at all, just
copious amounts of compost. Most of our soils are loaded with
enough nutrients to grow healthy plants, except N, which tomatoes
don't need. Do not plant tomatoes in an area that grew beans or
bean family crops last year, the Nitrogen they produce in the soil
will still be present.

Immediately after planting, water
seedlings to help settle them in.

You can combine fast-maturing
varieties with special season-stretching techniques to
grow an early crop – you will have tomatoes coming in much more
regularly and the variety IS the spice of life.

Cover the ground with 2 to 4
inches of mulch to minimize weeds and help keep the soil evenly
moist. Straw and shredded leaves make great mulches for tomatoes.

Water regularly, aiming for
at least an inch of moisture per week (through rain or watering),
more in the summertime. Even more during the Santa Ana winds. Keep
your eye on your plants whenever you go out to pick. Irregular
watering is one of the causes of blossom end rot, a fungus that
ruins tomato fruit by rotting from the far side of the tomato (where
the flower once was) and turning your fruit to an unappetizing mush.

Plant a variety of tomatoes, for
different colors, different tastes, but more importantly to allow
for different harvesting days. It does not hurt to plant more seeds
in June/July for a fall crop. Sometimes this close to the ocean we
get a better tomato harvest off the later plants. May's Malaise and
June Gloom can be deadly to tomatoes.

Tomato
Varieties

Tomato varieties can be divided into
categories based on shape and size. Some of the more popular of these
are:

Beefsteak tomatoes are
4” or more in diameter, often sliced for sandwiches and
similar applications. They may weigh in at over a pound or more.
Their kidney-bean shape, thinner skin, and shorter shelf life makes
commercial use impractical. But their flavor is usually among the
most “tomatoey” of all varieties. These are often the
“heirloom” tomatoes prized for that taste. Beefsteak tomatoes
are the largest tomatoes and will not reliably produce a crop close
to the coast. They need a constant 85º
day and night to set fruit. Because of our ocean influence, we
rarely meet that condition and so production of beefsteak tomatoes
can be scarce.

Slicing tomatoes are
the ones often found in markets – not as large as the beefsteak
tomato, but weighing in from 6 to 12 ounces, these round fruits are
the common tomato to be sliced into salads or topping of tacos.
Most tomatoes consumed in the US are slicing tomatoes and they will
set fruit easily in our climate.

Plum tomatoes, or paste
tomatoes (including pear tomatoes), are bred with a lower water
/higher solids content for use in tomato sauce and paste,
for canning and sauces and are usually oblong 3–4”
long and 1½ – 2” diameter; like the Roma-type tomatoes,
important cultivars in making tomato sauces – the famed San
Marzano tomato is one of these. Other tomatoes, round like fresh
eating tomatoes may be used for sauces, like the Burbank Slicer
which doubles nicely for a paste tomato as well.

Cherry tomatoes are
small and round, often sweet tomatoes, about the same ½ – 1”,
same size as the wild tomato. Cherry tomatoes will set fruit the
easiest and most prolific. I have always maintained that one eats
cherry tomatoes only in the garden, you plant them to keep the
gardener working and do not serve them because they are notoriously
fork-adverse, slipping from one plate to another person's eyeball.
Leave them in the garden or serve them presliced.

Determinate
vs Indeterminate

Another classification of tomatoes is
according to their growth habit. Most tomatoes are “Indeterminate.”
Left alone, they will continue to grow longer and longer vines until
stopped by cold weather or lack of water. Lack of things to climb on
does not figure. The good news is that all the continuous growth
will produce more tomatoes. With Indeterminate tomatoes, you get
tomatoes over a long period of time.

Determinate
tomatoes on the other hand, grow to their full height – usually
about 3 feet – and stop. They flower and then all the fruits that
plant will produce, will be produced in one flush and the plant dies.
This is great for folks who wish to can tomatoes or tomato juice. If
one is planting a determinate tomato only and wants tomatoes through
the summer, a second and third planting will be required.
Determinate tomatoes are the best for container and balcony growing.

A common tomato disease is tobacco
mosaic virus. Handling cigarettes and other infected tobacco products
can transmit the virus to tomato plants.

A common condition is Blossom End
Rot caused by indifferent
water. Tomatoes, while not being a water hog, need consistent
watering. Watering too little followed by compensative overwatering
will create fruits that rot from the blossom end destroying the
palatability of the fruit.

Tomato seeds offered at the class, were presented as follows:

*Limited Supply refers to the amount of seed I had of each at the class. Students were asked to confine themselves to only one of the "limited supply" varieties.

Variety

D/I

Limited
supply*

Description

All days to ripeness are from
transplant!

Company

Amish Paste

Yes

Acquired from the Amish near Lancaster, PN. Bright red 8-12
ounce fruits. Juicy flesh – top notch for sauce and fresh
eating. One of Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste varieties. 85 days

Seed Savers Exchange

Black Krim

I

Russian tomato with deep red and green color. 8 ounce fruits
with a deep, salty flavor. All the “Black” tomatoes have thin
skins and can be a chore to harvest wnen fully ripe, but they are
worth the hassle. Also a good container tomato, 80 days

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply

Burbank

D

A small heirloom slicer that can be used for paste as well.
Developed by Luther Burbank, 3-4 inch fruit. The fruit has a
very deep red color and a traditional tomato flavor. About 8
ounce fruit – great for containers!! 75 days One of David's
favorites!

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply

Chocolate Cherry

I

Yes

Purplish-red 1” cherry tomatoes are sweet and are good for
snacking (isn't that why we like cherry tomatoes?) Prolific vines
bear trusses of 6 to 8 fruits at a whack. About 70 days.

Rutgers University released this new “retro” variety to try
to get back to the original “Jersey tomato” qualities of
flavor, juiciness, texture, vigor, and all the other good stuff.
Red round medium fruits. A tasty tomato bred for home gardeners 75
days @ 6 to 8 ounces

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Rutgers (the original)

D

Strong and vigorous vines, bear bright red 6 to 8 ounce fruits
with excellent flavor – this is the tomato my grandfather
planted year in and year out. Also good for sauce. A great
all-purpose tomato. 75 days

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply

Siletz

D

75 days and will set fruit in cool and wet weather! 9-12 oz
fruits for slices, Prolific. 75 days

Lake Valley Seed

Sungold Cherry

I

Yes!

Just a few seeds! Tangerine colored fruits are among the best
tasting cherry tomatoes in the world. The only hybrid in this
list! 57 days

Botanical Interests

Sweetie Cherry

I

A well known tomato for it's strong tomato flavor. Smaller
cherries (¾ to 1”) still have a great taste and are produced in
clusters. Vigorous vines. 65 days

Botanical Interests

Trophy

I

Yes

Introduced in 1870, sold at that time for $5/pkt (equal to
today's $80!) sweet 5 to 7 ounce tomatoes ideal for slicing. 80
days